Banana Brownies (nut-free, grain-free, vegan, sugar-free)

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Deanna

Despite the fact that these brownies are typically considered the kiddo’s favorite, this is how this morning’s conversation went…

Kiddo: “These are nummy! Best brownies I’ve ever had. Awesome!…. You know what would make these even better? Peanut butter.”

Me: “Um, peanut butter sort of defeats the purpose of having them be nut-free.”

Kiddo: “Oh, well, maybe you could just smear it on top for people that don’t mind nuts.”

So, if you don’t mind nuts, just smear some peanut butter on top of these. Kiddo-tested. Kiddo-approved.

For the rest of you, I think these are about as allergy-free as you can get, unless you have seed allergies. In which case, you have my sympathies.

That sugar on top? Yay, totally negates the sugar-free thing. But, it makes the picture prettier.

That sugar on top? Yay, totally negates the sugar-free thing. But, it makes the picture prettier.

Nut-Free, Grain-free, Vegan, Sugar-Free Banana Brownies

2/3 cup (78 g) raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup (50 g) raw pumpkin seeds
2/3 cup (102 g) seedless dates
1/3 cup (30 g) cocoa powder
1 small, very ripe banana (about 88 g)
1 T. flax seed
3 T. hot water
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray oil an 8″ square pan and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, grind the sunflower and pumpkin seeds until you have a fairly fine powder. (This would probably work in a high speed blender, too. I don’t have one, though, so I can’t say for sure.) Add the dates and process until the dates are finely ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until you have a thick and sticky batter.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top as much as you can. (It will be sticky.)

Bake 18-24 minutes, until top is firm to the touch and edges are pulling away from pan slightly. (You won’t really see browning, unless you have a really good eye and look closely at the edges.)

Cool completely. Cut and serve. Makes about 9 brownies.

Looking for more wonderful weekend recipes? Check out Wellness Weekends.

 

Posted in bananas, chocolate, dates, desserts, flax seed, grain-free, nut-free, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 29 Comments

SRC: Banana Cake (365 Days of Baking)

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Deanna

Have you heard about the Secret Recipe Club? It’s a monthly food blogger event where each blogger is secretly assigned another blog from which to draw inspiration. There are so many participants that posts actually go out three times a month now! Crazy.

This month I was assigned 365 Days of Baking. Yep, it’s just what it sounds like – an ambitious attempt to bake every day for an entire year. Wow. Of course, baking and blogging every day means that some recipes are better than others, and so the author of 365 Days of Baking uses a rating system of 1 to 4 rolling pins to help the reader decide what recipes might be worth trying. I love this idea – and it takes so much pressure off to get every recipe just right.

I actually started by checking out her 1 rolling pin recipes. The Margarita Cookies, in particular, caught my eye. I thought the flavors sounded really interesting, and it seemed like one that would convert to gluten-free fairly well. And, I made them. And she was right. It’s great in concept, but not so much in execution. Oh well.

And then I was asked to make a cake. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t do a lot of cake around here. It’s just not my thing. But, for a friend? Always. Whatever they want. And so I settled on the Banana Cake – a 3 rolling pin recipe. Of course, I made it gluten-free and vegan. The wonderful thing about banana cake? It’s really just banana bread in disguise. And, well, I dig banana bread.

Banana Cake (or an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate frosting)

Banana Cake (or an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate frosting)

Fresh Banana Cake

1 T. apple cider vinegar, plus almond milk to equal 1/2 cup
1/2 T. ground chia seed
4 T. (48 g) palm shortening
4 T. (56 g) soy-free Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1.5 cups sugar (yep, I used white sugar)
1 1/4 cups (310 g) mashed bananas (about 3)
1 t. vanilla
3 ounces white corn flour (not corn starch or corn meal)
3 ounces sweet rice flour
3 ounces white rice flour
1 t. xanthan gum
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Oil and flour a 9″ springform pan. (I used the sweet rice flour for the pan.) Mix the apple cider vinegar, almond milk and chia seed together and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the shortening, Earth Balance and sugar together. Beat until light. (This takes a while.)

Add the bananas and vanilla and beat well.

In a small bowl, mix the flours, gum, baking soda & salt. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and beat well.

Add the almond milk mixture and beat well.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Check it after 30 minutes. If it is browning too fast, place a loose piece of tin foil over the pan to prevent browning.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Open the springform pan and place a cooling rack on top of cake. Invert the cake onto cooling rack. Cool Completely. Split and fill and frost with your choice of filling and frosting.

Want to see what other bloggers did this month? Check out the Group C Round Up:

Posted in bananas, Blogger Community, chocolate, desserts, nut-free, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

SRC: Black Bean Taco Pizza (Connor’s Cooking)

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Deanna

Each month for the Secret Recipe Club, bloggers are “assigned” a participating food blogger to make a recipe from. From time to time, something happens. An oven blows up. A kid gets sick. Every recipe you try is a miserable failure. A Tsunami hits. You know – your usual blogger Armageddon type stuff. And once in a while, someone gets left out.

We’re a community, we Secret Recipe Clubbers. A tribe, you might say. And, when someone gets left out. We rally. We rally big.

This month, one blogger got left out – Connor’s Cooking. The call went out, “who can help out?” “Who can pick up the slack?” And, the community answered.

With less than 24 hours to choose, cook, and blog, I needed a quick recipe, and one that would pull double-duty as my dinner for tonight. A bit of poking around led me to Raina’s No Meat Meals, and in particular, to the Black Bean Taco Pizza. I’ve been avoiding nightshades for a while, and wanted a recipe where I could challenge that food group, and what better way to do it than with Mexican food. Of course, I had to change things up a bit. I’m still trying to focus my meals on raw food. Luckily, the SRC only asks you to use the recipe as inspiration, and adaptation is perfectly acceptable.

Almost Raw Single Serving Black Bean Taco Pizza

Almost Raw Single Serving Black Bean Taco Pizza

Black Bean Taco Pizza on a Jicama “Crust”

High raw, grain-free, gluten-free and vegan
1 large slice jicama (Slice horizontally across the largest part of the jicama to cut it in half. Place the cut side flat on a cutting board, and with your knife held parallel to the cutting board, cut one slice, about 1/4 inch above the cutting board.)
2 T. fresh salsa (I used a brand made by a local restaurant. It is sold raw in the refrigerator case.)
2 T. diced zucchini
2 T. drained, rinsed canned black beans (not raw – the only thing that isn’t)
1 thick slice fresh tomato, chopped
1-2 T. cashew cream (See below.)
1-2 t. chopped fresh cilantro

Place the slice of jicama on a plate. Spread with salsa. Sprinkle on the black beans, tomato, and zucchini. Drizzle on the cashew cream. Garnish with cilantro.

Cashew Cream

1/4 cup raw, chopped cashews (soaked for 30-60 minutes and drained)
1 t. nutritional yeast
1/2 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. salt
3 T. cold water

Place all ingredients in a personal blender and blend until creamy (about 2 minutes).

Want to see what other members of the tribe put together? Check them all out!


Posted in beans, Blogger Community, cashews, grain-free, main dish, Mexican, raw, tomatoes, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Vegan Soy-Free French Silk Pie

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Deanna

My mom’s birthday was last weekend. She recently discovered that she can’t eat dairy. (Big shock – she’s my mom, after all.) I wanted to make something for her for her birthday, and one of her favorites is French Silk Pie. Of course, traditionally, French Silk Pie is loaded with dairy. And all the vegan recipes I could find featured tofu. Yuck. Never fear, Dairy-Free (and Soy-Free) Deanna is here!

(Note that her other favorite is cream puffs. If you want an excellent dairy-free, though not vegan cream puff recipe, check out this one at Simply Gluten-Free. It’s mom-approved.)

I'd show you a slice, but I gave away the whole pie....

I'd show you a slice, but I gave away the whole pie....

Vegan Soy-Free French Silk Pie

1 9″ pie crust, baked and cooled. (I used this grain-free Spunky Coconut recipe. I cooked it longer than she suggested as it wasn’t done yet on the bottom.)

12 ounces chopped dairy-free dark chocolate
4-6 T. coconut oil
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

Put the chocolate and 4 T. coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl. In a small sauce pan, heat the almond milk to just barely simmering. Pour the almond milk over chopped chocolate. Do not stir. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Then, carefully stir until the mixture is completely smooth. It will be liquidy. Put it in the fridge to cool for 20-30 minutes.

Fill your sink a few inches with ice water. Place the bowl of chocolate in the ice bath, and whip with electric beaters. The mixture will thicken and begin to whip. If it does not, melt coconut oil, a tablespoon at a time, and add to the mixture. Continue whipping until the mixture is as thick as you’d like. Be careful – it will continue to harden as it cools. When smooth and light, spoon it into the prepared crust, smooth and serve. Keep chilled.

Traditionally French Silk Pie needs whipping cream. I was hauling this 3+ hours in a car. So, I skipped that. But, Ricki’s Coconut Whipped Cream would be excellent on top!

While this recipe is definitely more than slightly indulgent, you can find other slightly less sinful recipes over at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Posted in chocolate, coconut, desserts, grain-free, vegan | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Triple Chocolate Cherry Pie (The Raw Pie Challenge)

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Deanna

I’ve been in a rut. Stuck. I’ve been making the same handful of things over and over, spending the least amount of time in the kitchen as possible. Living on giant bowls of fresh sweet cherries and big shredded cabbage salads. Delicious, but nothing to write about.

Then along comes the Raw Mini Pie challenge from the great Lisa and Nicole. I’ve entered their previous two challenges, the cake pop challenge and the ice cream sandwich challenge. Okay, okay, I’ll get off my butt and come up with something.

Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to use these:

Scandinavian Sandbakkel Tins

Scandinavian Sandbakkel Tins

Aren’t they cute? They’re Scandinavian Sandbakkel tins. You’re supposed to use them to make these insanely buttery cookies. I picked them up at a garage sale a year or two ago, and they’ve sat in my cupboard ever since. Mocking me. (Um, I don’t like insanely buttery cookies. Why did I buy them? Apparently, I’m a slave to nostalgic heritage. I mean I am part Scandinavian. So, I should like them. Right? Just like I should like rosettes and krumkake and lefse.)

Anyway, they make the perfect mini pie tins. Yay!

And, how beautiful are these cherries?

Chopped Sweet Cherries

Chopped Sweet Cherries

It’s the height of cherry season around here. I could live on these.

Well, maybe on those and chocolate.

Let’s put them together, shall we?

A chocolate cherry pie for one. Mmm....

Triple Chocolate Cherry Pie (raw, vegan, grain-free)

Crust
1 cup (112 g) raw cashews
1/3 cup (73 g) packed, pitted dates
1/4 cup (30 g) raw cacao powder
1 T. (14 g.) melted coconut oil
2 T (20 g) dried cherries

Put cashews in the bowl of the food processor and pulse until you have a very fine meal. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball. Divide dough between your tins and press into tins. (I made 5 sandbakkel tins and 1 mini tart. I used a heaping tablespoon for each sandbakkel tin and a couple of tablespoons for the mini tart.) Put prepared tins into the fridge.

Cherry Filling
1 1/3 cups chopped sweet cherries (about 2 cups whole cherries) (divided use)
1/3 cup chopped tart cherries
1/3 cup dried bing cherries
2 T. raw agave syrup
1 t. ground chia seed

Put the 1 cup of sweet cherries in a bowl with a cover and set aside. In the bowl of the food processor, put the 1/3 cup sweet cherries, the tart cherries, the dried cherries, and the agave syrup. Process until syrupy. Add the chia seed and pulse to combine. Pour mixture over reserved chopped cherries, stir, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. (Can be left overnight.)

Whipped Chocolate Topping
100 g. young coconut meat (this was just under 1 full coconut)
3 t. raw agave syrup
1/2 T. raw cacao powder
2 t. ground chia seeds
seeds scraped from 1/2 inch vanilla bean

Put all ingredients into the bowl of a small blender. (I used a magic bullet type blender.) Blend until smooth. Chill at least 30 minutes.

To assemble
Place 1 heaping tablespoon cherry filling into each sandbakkel tin. Top with a spoonful of chocolate whipped topping. If desired, sprinkle with a few raw cacao nibs.

Interested in more seasonal recipes? Check out Seasonal Sundays. Or how about recipes containing good for you foods like cherries and cacao (oh okay – or veggies)? Then, check out Wellness Weekends. For more slightly indulgent recipes, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Posted in cherries, chocolate, coconut, Cooking Challenges, dates, desserts, grain-free, nuts, raw, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 33 Comments

Secret Recipe Club: Fake Ginger

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Deanna

Are you good at keeping secrets? Do you like a discovering new foodie blogs? Are you up for a challenge? Then, you should head on over to Amanda’s Cooking and join her Secret Recipe Club. That’s exactly what I did just this past month.

Here’s how it works. You sign up, and Amanda assigns you a blog. And she assigns your blog to someone, too. And everybody peruses their secret blog and picks a recipe or two and makes them – with your own spin if you want – and then posts about the experience.

This month, I got Fake Ginger, a lovely blog put together by another Amanda. Apparently, her blog is named for her unnatural hair color and her dislike of fresh ginger. Egads! She doesn’t like fresh ginger? What will I do?

Never fear, she likes a lot of other things that I dearly love, like coconut and peanut butter and chocolate. But wait a minute. I’m supposed to be eating raw right now, right? Good thing adapting is totally within the rules, eh? So, I started checking our the recipe archives with an eye for adapting something to be raw, and I came across Peanut Butter Crusted Sweet Potatoes. Oh my word. Heavenly.

Of course, I’m not eating peanut butter. Or baking.

Enter almond butter and the magical dehydrator! (But, I’m still going to try her peanut butter version when I’m eating it again.)

Almond Butter Sweet Potato Chips

Almond Butter Sweet Potato Chips

Almond Butter Sweet Potato Chips

1 large sweet potato, peeled
2 T. raw almond butter
2 T. water (approximately)
1/4-1/2 t. salt

With a spiralizer or mandolin, slice the sweet potato as thin as you can. Mix the almond butter, water and salt in a small bowl. Pour over sweet potato slices and toss to coat evenly. (Adjust the water so that you can coat the slices. Use as little as you can get away with, which will vary based on how thick your almond butter is.)

Spread evenly on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 115° until crispy. (Mine went overnight and then some. It will vary. Check them and keep going until they’re as crisp as you’d like.)

Check out all the rest of the Secret Recipe Club participants, too!



25 Comments

Kiddo Creations: Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Deanna

I’m home with a sick kiddo today. He’s wiped out. Spent. Beat.

I guess we played a little too hard this weekend.

Can kiddo’s get fun hangovers? If they can, I think he has one.

But, he isn’t too spent to dream up his latest favorite smoothie concoction, chock full of fruits and veggies to kick any fun hangover in the butt.

Seriously, Mom? You're making me pose while I'm sick?

Seriously, Mom? You're making me pose while I'm sick?

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

1 banana
1 large handful fresh spinach
1 large handful frozen blueberries
1 large handful ice cubes
About 1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon (or so) cinnamon

Throw it all in a blender and whizz it up. Add more coconut milk if it’s too thick.

Okay, you can post this one, but you have to call it "Yum! Yum! Yum!"

Okay, you can post this one, but you have to call it "Yum! Yum! Yum!"

Want more seasonal recipes? Check out Seasonal Sundays. For more slightly indulgent goodies, check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

Posted in bananas, blueberries, breakfast, cinnamon, coconut, drinks, raw, spinach, vegan | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Raw Green Pea Hummus

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Deanna

Mmmmm….. Hummus. I love you, so.

Sadly, raw garbanzo beans, even sprouted ones, just don’t do it for me. Believe me. I’ve tried.

But raw peas? My mouth is happy to dance with a big ol’ bowl of raw peas, especially if they’re whizzed up with tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil.

My kind of raw.

Whirled Peas for World Peace

Whirled Peas for World Peace

Raw Green Pea Hummus

2 cups peas
2 T. tahini
1 T. olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
1 garlic scape (or 1 small clove garlic)
1/4 t. salt

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until mostly smooth. If needed, add a bit of water until you get the hummus consistency that you like.

For more seasonal recipes, check out Seasonal Sundays. For some real food, check out Real Food Wednesdays. Have you seen Ricki’s new link up – Summer Wellness Weekends? I just found it and it’s sure to be a regular weekend stop for me. Check it out!

Posted in grain-free, nightshade-free, nut-free, raw | Tagged , , , , , | 29 Comments

Coconut Cacao Nib Ice Cream Sandwiches

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Deanna

When I was in sixth grade, I had to do a demonstration for school. Even then I was a bit of a foodie. Well, not exactly a high-brow foodie, but I loved to cook. So, I decided to demonstrate making Toll House Cookies – something I’d been doing for years already. I knew it would be a hit, because I was going to feed my classmates cookies. How could they not appreciate that kind of demonstration, right?

So, I diligently prepared. I had my notes. I had my ingredients. I had my hand mixer. I was ready.

I stood up in front of my classmates, and in my best 4-H speaking voice, I demonstrated all the steps to make Toll House chocolate chip cookies. And, like any good demonstrator, I ended by asking, “Any questions?”

Hands shot up all over the room. Hands attached to smirking faces. Giggling mouths. Snarky looks. Oh oh.

Nervously I called on someone in the front row. He asked, “How can you call those chocolate chip cookies when there aren’t any chocolate chips in them?”

I looked down at my bowl and discovered that I had failed to add the final ingredient. The shame! The horror!

Apparently, I’m destined to relive sixth grade. These raw ice cream sandwiches are supposed to have cacao nibs in them. Look closely. Go ahead.

Raw Vegan Coconut Cacao Nib Ice Cream Sandwiches

Raw Vegan Coconut Cacao Nib Ice Cream Sandwiches

Yah, you guessed it. I forgot to add them to the cookies.

But, unlike when I was in sixth grade, there’s no shame or horror this time. This time, I improvised – and pressed the cacao nibs into the edges of the cookies instead. Voila!

The kiddo says these are better than my Triple B Bites, and I have to agree. Even without the cacao nibs.

Coconut Cacao Nib Ice Cream Sandwiches

1/2 cup (80 g) raw almonds
5 (22 g) raw Brazil nuts
1/2 cup (68 g) packed pitted dates
1/2 cup (32 g) unsweetened dried shredded coconut
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
1 T. raw cashew or almond milk (approximately)
2 T. cacao nibs

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the nuts, dates, coconut, vanilla and salt until crumbly. Add the cashew milk and process until dough clumps together. (You may need to add a little more or less cashew milk, depending on how moist your dates are.) Stir in the cacao nibs. (No really. Do it. It’s better that way.)

Divide the dough into 8 parts. Press each part into the bottom of a silicone muffin pan. Place in freezer while making ice cream.

Banana Coconut Ice Cream

Meat from 1 young Thai Coconut (75 g)
2 small frozen bananas (130 g)
1 t. vanilla

Pulse all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor until creamy.

To assemble pop 4 of the cookies out of the muffin pans. Leave four in. Place a scoop of ice cream on top of each of the four cookies in the muffin pan and top with another cookie. Freeze for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and smooth edges with a knife. Wrap each sandwich individually and return to freezer until fully frozen.

Want to find more raw ice cream sandwich recipes? Check out the Raw Ice Cream Sandwich Challenge put on by Lisa of Vegan Culinary Crusade and Nicole of Dash of Compassion.

Posted in bananas, coconut, cookies, desserts, grain-free, nightshade-free, nuts, raw, vegan | Tagged , , , , , | 24 Comments

Raw Pesto Guac Salad

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Deanna

Some things in life are ugly.

Industrial waste. Scowling faces. Hairless dogs. (Okay maybe hairless dogs are so ugly they’re cute.)

Lately, the state of my health has been ugly. I’ve caught one virus after another. My energy is low. My motivation is lower. My weight is up. My fitness is down. Ugly.

It’s time to do something to give this ugly a kick in the butt.

So, I’m embarking on 21 days of raw food. Technically, I’ve embarked. I started yesterday.

I’m not a huge proponent of crash diets or radical shifts in what one eats. But, really, this isn’t that radical for me. I’d already been eating about 75% raw. Sadly, that 25%? It was also a bit ugly.

Dinner last night? It was ugly, too. But, oh so healthy and delicious.

Ugly But Delicious - Pesto Guac Salad

Ugly But Delicious - Pesto Guac Salad

Raw Pesto Guac Salad

1/2 avocado
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 cup loosely packed basil
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. nutritional yeast
1 garlic scape
1/4 cup water
pinch salt

Put all ingredients in blender or food processor and process until smooth. Toss with 1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms & 1 cup chopped zucchini. (The second day I ate the leftovers with a big handful of lettuce, as well.)

Serves 2.

Looking for more healthy fare? Try Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays or Real Food Weekly.

Posted in basil, raw, salads, tomatoes, vegan | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments